EXTINGUISH? YOU KEEP USING THAT WORD…: Best Way to Extinguish a Flaming Electric Vehicle? Let It Burn.

Electric cars combust differently than their gas-powered counterparts. Firefighters and researchers said EV fires last longer, are harder to put out and have a tendency to reignite.

First responders in Franklin, Tenn., faced their first burning EV in September, a Nissan Leaf that ignited while charging outside the car maker’s North America headquarters. They spent hours pouring 45,000 gallons of water on the car, compared with the 500 to 1,000 gallons that fires involving gasoline-powered vehicles usually need, Fire Marshal Andy King said.

“I think if we were faced with a similar scenario next time, we might need to let it burn,” he said.

Nissan said it is investigating the cause of the fire.

We’ve seen stories like this one before and we’ll see a lot more of them.